by Yvette Depaepe 
Published the 17th of July 2023

To Iris Wiener, photography is a way of life.  She always viewed the world through a lens.  She loves to document lost tribes and vanishing cultures with their ancient traditions. Her work is powerful and story-telling.  Iris has a charming but humble personality.  Discover more about her through this interview.

'Two halves'

Please briefly tell us about yourself, dear Iris
I really don’t like talking about myself and have always had someone talking for me. My best friend in Australia always said “don’t blow your own horn”, which is a theory I have managed to live by. I was born in Israel and grew up in beautiful Sydney. Now I am living both in Israel and Germany.

What first attracted you to photography and how has your history and life experiences affected your photography?
The  chapters of my life have been liked by a chain – that chain is photography. I started photographing from an early age when my Dad bought me a box Kodak camera. He was a good photographer. Then after finishing the Conservatory of Music I got married and my late husband had the sole agent rights for Nikon in Germany. He gave me my first Nikon camera. I took some courses in photography and worked in the dark room. It was magic! Seeing a photo coming out of the stop bath and into the fixer was like being in Disneyland. Then came the digital age and I was thrilled. I use only a little photoshop and am trying to learn new techniques by asking fellow 1x members.

Can you describe your overall photographic vision?
I have always viewed the world through a lens. When I look at something I can imagine how it will look on camera. Photography is my way of life. I want to document lost tribes and vanishing cultures with their ancient traditions. These images are powerful and tell a truly magical story. Like the woman with the biggest plate in the tribe. She is worth a lot of money as her plate is huge. Her husband paid 30 goats, 15 cows and 10 kalashnikovs for her. If she is no good he can trade her in for another family member!

'The largest plate in the Mursi tribe, Ethopia'

I love people – all nations and all creeds. I talk to them, live with them and learn their stories. I sleep in tents with or next to them and learn their way of life. I have lived in a Gher with the Nomads of Mongolia in the Gobi desert, with different  African tribes , with the nomads of Kyrgyzstan. This fascinates me.

I even treated a tribe in Ethiopia with antibiotics and bandages for their wounds. I came back a few months later with more first aid and they were lining up to get help. They don’t wash so their wounds get infected. I will travel anywhere to photograph festivals of tribes. I travelled over 48 hours to the back of nowhere in  Ethiopia (cancelled flights, sleeping at the airport, missing luggage) in order to get to the Bodi tribe. There the fattest of the tribe wins. The men go into a hut for 6 months drinking cow’s blood and cow milk. No exercise and they are not allowed to move until they have gained at least 10-15 kilos. At the end of the 6 months there is a festival and I was dying to see it.

'Body Me'en Festival'

Can you tell us something more about your work flow?
I don’t have particular workflow – I use my fantasy and imagination. I think that a photographer has to be also a director.  I love to photograph children with their innocent faces and creativity. Also old people's faces are amazing with all their experiences lined in their faces.

'Learning to share'

'Having Fun'

'Suri girls'

'Innocent eyes'

'The old Suri Woman'

I also love to photograph mother and child – the tribal babies ween until the age of 3.

'Mother and child'

'Happiness'

'Suri Mother'

'Mother and child Mursi tribe'

What gear do you use (camera, lenses, bag)?
I don’t believe that gear is important. I only believe that you can take fabulous photos if you know your camera. Your camera is like your best friend. Once you know it, it will work magic for you. I use to believe that gear was important and I carried around 4 lenses, tripods and extra cameras but my back can’t take carrying 8 or so kilos every time I go on a photo shoot. I now use only the simple Canon 6D Mark II with a 50mm and 85mm lens.

Who are your favourite photographers and more importantly, how has your appreciation of their work affected how you approach your own photography? 
My favourite photographer is Steve Mc Curry. He photographs also lost tribes and children like me. I wish I could be a war photographer like he was but I guess it will never be……

Are there any specific directions that you would like to take your photography in the future or any specific goals that you wish to achieve?
My plans for the future are firstly to start a website. I also want to visit many more indigenous tribes like the ones in Papua New Guinea and the Bushmen  of the Kalahari Desert….. My biggest project will be to travel along the Ganges River for a few months photographing the people who live along it. From its source in the Himalayas on Nepalese boarder to its end  in the Bay of Bengal. This 2,500 mile journey will be a major feat, and hopefully maybe a book???

Is there anything else you wish to add  and what do you think about 1X as a home base for your work?
I wish to thank 1x for all the support I have been getting. I have not only developed professionally but also socially. You people have been amazing and I am so grateful  for giving me so much self confidence in my photography.
Thank you 1x, thank you Yvette.

Thank you from all of us for this great interview, dear Iris!

'Quartet'

'The trio'

'Double beauties'

'Little fingers and toes'